Suspension and Expulsion Patterns in Six Oregon School Districts. Summary. REL 2014-028

Burke, Arthur; Nishioka, Vicki

Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest

This summary document presents findings from a Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northwest study that identifies how frequently students in six selected urban districts received exclusionary discipline during the 2011/12 school year, the most common reasons for such discipline, the percentage of students receiving multiple suspensions, and how many school days students lost to suspensions. The study also examined the application of exclusionary discipline at different grade spans and by student gender, race/ethnicity, and special education status. Key findings include: (1) During 2011/12, 6.4 percent of students were removed from regular classroom instruction because they were suspended or expelled. The most common reasons were physical and verbal aggression and insubordination/disruption; (2) Nearly 40 percent of students who were suspended received more than one suspension over the school year; and (3) The average number of school days suspended among students receiving at least one suspension was 3.3 days. [This summary was prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) under Contract ED-IES-12-C-003 by Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest administered by Education Northwest. To access the full report, see ED544799.]